It’s 11/11/11 and several shops are celebrating tonight with killer sales and swanky parties: Vian Hunter in Madison Valley is hosting Issaquah-based Lizzie Parker’s newest collection tonight from6-8 p.m. at their 11/11 party, where guests can model the casual wear in the shop while enjoying cocktails.   (Above) One of my favorite shopping haunts (um,…

Apples, pork, booze with character and baked goods with substance… I love the autumn calm before the holiday storm, when food is comforting and uber-seasonal without being too over the top. Here are a few of my favorite November eating events that tread the perfect line between reasonable human behavior and coming wonderfully unhinged.  Will…

Acclaimed indie artist Laura Veirs is back with a much-lauded album Tumble Bee: Laura Veirs Sings Folk Songs for Children (released November 8). Recorded by Grammy-nominated producer (and husband) Tucker Martine in their home in Portland, Oregon, it covers a wide range of American folk songs and features amazing guest artists, many of who are…

MUST SHOPFaux Fur Neck Muff Stay cozy on cool fall nights with a faux rabbit fur neck muff from Seattle based scarf designer extraordinaire Rian Robison, who sells a variety of loop scarves in charming patterns via her Etsy store “Tuesday.” The cowl (which can also be worn as a hood on those really chilly…

[Editor’s note: a touching tribute to local veterans, plus a great visual complement to our September coverage of the iFly Vertical Wind Tunnel.]      

It’s not easy being a clown. Not the kind with frizzy hair and embarrassingly big feet. I mean that certain breed of performer that doesn’t hold as much clout in the world as it used to—the kind you may remember from Sylvain Chomet’s heartbreaking animated film The Illusionist. These performers—the acrobat, the diva, the contortionist,…

I’ve been covering Seattle magazine’s society page, Flash+Talk, for over twelve years and clearly this distinction offers me some sweet perks. Still, when publisher, John Kueber, and editorial director, Rachel Hart, recently asked if I was available to attend An Intimate Evening with Mario Batali, organized by the Seattle Art Museum Supporters (SAMS), they had…

Oh, ballet. It’s so hard to do! So gruelingly technical! And so often… flat. At least to me. I always prefer modern and contemporary dance (which are not the same thing!) to classical ballet. And I think that’s because classical ballet so often feels like all technique, no emotional connection. (Indeed, sometimes contemporary dance fails…

Truth is, I loved Restaurant Zoe from the get-go. When it opened in Belltown 10-plus years ago I was writing for Citysearch and I remember that, during my two review dinners, I tasted some of the best salmon I’ve ever had in a restaurant. (I’m convinced that, like Dungeness crab, salmon is almost always better…

Feeling a little cocky of late, now that everything’s totally back to normal down here in SoDo (the new “slow normal,” that is), so today I actually took a meeting in the office, inviting an uninitated reporter to drive southbound through the SoDo Coaster to our Viaduct-adjacent office. That was mean. Right about meeting time,…

If the idea of holding ten of the most venomous snakes* in the world makes your kid do somersaults, then it is imperative you head out to the Serpentarium in Monroe. Inside this unassuming warehouse sits one of the most colorful collections of reptiles, spiders and crocodiles on the West Coast. But don’t expect to…

Keep your eyes peeled for a plethora of new shopping stops and beauty spots opening in the coming weeks: + Get ready gents: Ward & Co., a men’s grooming retailer flush with shaving supplies, moisturizers, hair care and fragrances, will open in Rainier Square downtown on November 16.   + Also on the beauty horizon:…